The Houston Astros announced on Sunday they have placed designated hitter Yordan Alvarez on the 10-day injured list because of inflammation in his right hand. In a corresponding move, the Astros recalled outfielder Jose Siri from Triple-A Sugar Land.
Alvarez, 25, suffered the injury on a swing in mid-June. That hadn't stopped him from batting .306/.405/.653 (196 OPS+) with 26 home runs in his first 75 games. With the All-Star Break coming up, the Astros wanted to give Alvarez time to rest and recover ahead of the second half.
"Yordan has been suffering with the injury for a couple weeks and it's gotten worse," Astros manager Dusty Baker told the Houston Chronicle. "We decided that hey, the only way to get this well is to try to use these (series) before the All-Star break to coincide with the 10 that he has to be on the IL."
Siri, 26, has appeared in 66 games with the Astros over the past two seasons. In that time, he's batted .216/.274/.392 (86 OPS+) with seven home runs and nine stolen bases (on 11 total attempts).
Alvarez is the third notable Astros position player to be placed on the shelf in the past two weeks, joining catcher Jason Castro and outfielder Michael Brantley.
Despite those absences, the Astros entered Sunday with a 55-29 record on the season. They held a 12-game lead over the Seattle Mariners in the American League West, the second-largest in all of Major League Baseball, behind only the New York Yankees' in the AL East.
The Astros will wrap up their series against the Oakland Athletics on Sunday before taking off Monday. They'll resume play on Tuesday by beginning a three-game set versus the Los Angeles Angels.
